Renovating wheels

[voodoopenguin]

The Turkey's wheels are not wonderful, they are rusty and mucky and at the moment have cheapo plastic covers on them (even they are cracked). I'm not looking to buy a new exotic set that some have (and they do look good) but just generally tidy up what I have I have which I assume are the original steel ones. So is there a suggested way to go about it or do I just use Gunk to remove grease and oil, wire brush them and then Hammerite? Any thoughts?

You might have seen my exploding tyre tale which fortunately was not on the T25 https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... k#p7840055" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and I thought I would practice first on the trailer wheels as I was hoping to renovate the whole thing in the next few weeks.

Paul

[AdrianC]

Yep, basically just give steel rims a damn good clean up. Manual wire brush'll get rid of anything too chunky, but you'll probably either want to go over with a drill-powered one or just get up-close-and-personal with glasspaper, to properly clean and abrade them. The better you prep, the better the chances of the paint sticking. Decent primer will help, too.

Then paint with whatever you prefer. If you deflate the tyres, you can them push them back a bit from the rim to properly clean & mask the rim. Spray or brush - your choice - but remember that you need to get the paint as even as possible to reduce the risk of unbalancing them. You'll have to paint around the valve unless you get the tyres off the rim.

I'm not a fan of hammersh*te at all - horrible stuff, just doesn't stick well, and a bugger to clean brushes. You'd be surprised how well normal household gloss will hold up - and, of course, it gives you a HUGE range of shades from almost any DIY shop...

[fairwynds]

Hi
Ive had my van for over ten years now, and have previously done the 'rusty steel wheels' tidy up job. Having previously gone down the route of removing wheels, hand sanding and then Hammeriting, that lasted a couple of years before they had to be done again. Second go, I went to expense of having tyres removed, and had rims shot blasted (friend did them for free!) and then sprayed wheels using a proprietry wheel enamel. Again, they didnt really last that well in my opinion (and I dont bump kerbs or go off road!)
A year ago I did a big job on my rear trailing arms (replacing bushes etc) and it was recommended on here to have the arms galvanised. I followed this advice and used Medway Galvanising http://www.medgalv.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
They galvanise by weight of items, minumum being 75kg iirc and two trailing arms weighed 22kg, so I thought 'what ELSE could I get galvanised'....
BEFORE:

AFTER:

So if you NEVER want to mess about painting wheels again......that's one option....maybe get a few people together and split the costs?
When I got them back I had them shod with lovely new tyres. (Oh, and I had a second set of spare steelies, which I had galvanised too, and intend to fit them with some winter tyres at some point, so I can go to Norway!)

[voodoopenguin]

Thanks for the replies, gives me something to work on.

and intend to fit them with some winter tyres at some point, so I can go to Norway!)

Following in my footsteps?

Paul

[ghost123uk]

I followed this advice and used Medway Galvanising http://www.medgalv.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AFTER:

VERY impressive

You forgot to mention, for all those interested, how much did that lot cost to do ?

.

[fairwynds]

£100.....but worth every penny I reckon

[keith]

Going rate for galv is about 50p a kg dipped....

Generally the finish is fairly rough though

[AdrianC]

Generally the finish is fairly rough though

Mmm, that's true. What's the finish like around the tyre beads and valve holes, fairwynds? Have you got tyres on yet? Did they balance up OK?

[keith]

I'm lucky as I have this at my disposal......


http://www.kmf.co.uk/services-solutions/painting.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Not used it for wheels though yet...

[clift_d]

Has the galvanising made it difficult to fit new bushes in the trailing arms - doesn't the thickness of the galvanising reduce the diameter of the holes?

[keith]

galv layer is typically 100 microns...but it can vary considerably.

we (work) have traditionally struggled to find reliable galv subcontractors......its an industry that still thinks "victorian" is something to aspire to.

[ghost123uk]

"watching" with interest.

.

[fairwynds]

Before I went down this route I had a discussion with the foreman/boss at Medway Galvanising, about possible issues with galv thickness and bushes/tyres etc. Its microns thick and presents no issues.

No issues with the trailing arm bushes, in fact, as the result was so smooth, with the application of a little washing up liquid and the use of some stud bar and nuts/washers/suitable sized socket, they went in with no problems.

No issues with the wheels, nice smooth rim beads. I obviously had to check the beads thoroughly before having the tyres fitted, and I did remove one 'drip' of galv from one rim with a mini grinder. The rims balanced up nicely. I had the trye fitters spin up all 8 rims first and 'grade' them, so Ive got the best 4 on the van first. New rubber has been on for almost a year now, and not had any issues, no leaks, and certainly no rust!

Trailing arms can be painted with Shutz or Dinotrol etc once they dull (couple of months on the van) but this is purely aesthetic. Im sure there are galvanisers who would be cheaper but I didnt know enough about the process to go anywhere other than a previous 80-90 members recommendation..... Keep me posted folks